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Deacon to discuss healthcare and Catholic social teaching

Healthcare — Right or Privilege? Saint Charles Borromeo Church in Sicklerville will offer the fourth of six talks on current social justice issues on Thursday, March 8, in Borromeo Hall (basement of the church) 7-8:30 p.m. Deacon Jerry Jablonowski, executive director of Vitality Catholic Healthcare Services of the Diocese of Camden, will be the presenter.

Deacon Jablonowski has been a healthcare clinician, educator and executive for 40 years. Prior to his present position, he served for 13 years as the President and CEO of Saint Francis Medical Center in Trenton.

Deacon Jablonowski will speak about Healthcare in America in its relationship to Catholic social teaching: How the church in the United States, through its long tradition of serving the sick in hospitals, long-term care facilities and within the community, has given witness to the corporal work of mercy to be with the sick through their suffering. He will discuss the landscape of healthcare within the country and how the government and private insurance companies influence medical care through their systems of payment to providers, and how these systems either support or are in opposition to Catholic values of social justice. He will also discuss the common call of Catholics to practice social justice in their communities as they advocate for laws and social policies that support the right of healthcare and medical services to all in need along with the right of medical providers to practice according to their conscience.